Turkey: Prime Minister Visits Ottoman Tomb in Syria

By Agence France-Presse

May 10, 2015

The Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, slipped into Syria on Sunday to visit an ancient tomb that was relocated this year away from jihadist-controlled territory. Mr. Davutoglu, according to a statement by his office, was accompanied by his defense minister and army commanders on the surprise visit to the tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the Ottoman Empire’s founder, Osman I. The mausoleum now lies just 650 feet from the Turkish border, inside Syrian territory, after Turkish soldiers in February staged an incursion deep into Syria to move the tomb from its previous location. The government ordered the tomb — considered sovereign Turkish territory — to be moved because of security concerns as it was in an area controlled by the Islamic State some 23 miles inside Syrian territory. Opposition parties criticized the operation as a cowardly retreat. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected that criticism, saying the move was motivated by concerns that the tomb and Turkish guards could have come under attack from extremists. The tomb of Suleyman Shah, who is said to have died in 1236, is considered Turkish territory under the 1921 Treaty of Ankara between the Turkish authorities and France, which then controlled French-mandated Syria.

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